The program included pieces from the upcoming film “Boychoir,” which stars Dustin Hoffman and Kath

Angelic voices are to be expected from a boy choir. But it was the range and depth of sound that made the American Boychoir stand out Saturday night at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem for the Bach Choir of Bethlehem's 2014 gala concert and fundraiser.

The choir, which features boys in grades 4 through 8, includes boys with lower voices, different from the traditional alto and soprano of boy choirs, which gives the group a distinctive richness and complexity.

The program included music that was inspired by stars and starlight, and also expanded that concept to include movie "stardom," with pieces from the upcoming film "Boychoir." The movie, which stars Dustin Hoffman and Kathy Bates, is inspired by the Princeton, N.J.-based American Boychoir and features members of the choir.

The concert began very traditionally, with the Gregorian chant of "Ave Maris Stella," done beautifully with the sound soaring to the rafters of the church as the boys — from tall to small — walked in perfect unison into the sanctuary.

The discipline of the young singers is evident as they respond instantly to every gesture by director Fernando Malvar-Ruiz.

Their voices blended sweetly on "Frostiana," written by Randall Thompson using Robert Frost's poem "Choose Something Like a Star" as its text.

Of course there was Bach, with the choir doing an impressive job on the intricate harmonies of "Domine Deus" from "Mass in G Major BWV 236" and "Wir eilen mit schwachen" from "Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78."

Moving in a very different, but equally enchanting direction was "La Lluvia"(The Rain) by Stephen Hatfield. In this humorous and eclectic piece the boys used percussive techniques as well as vocal sounds to create a thunderstorm in a rainforest and then vocally added in the sounds of the animals.

It was followed by the haunting world music of "Three Native Songs" of the Krao Indians, by Marcos Leite.

Another unique piece was the avant-garde "Epitaph for Moonlight." It features no melody or harmony and is instead a 16-part soundscape that really demonstrated the finely honed choral skills of the ingers.

That piece was followed by a lovely rendition of the traditional gospel song "This Little Light of Mine," smoothly accompanied on cello by one of the choir boys, and an exciting performance of the spiritual "Elijah Rock."

The section of the program which featured music from the "Boychoir" film included more traditional choral selections, highlighted by luminous solos on four selections from Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols."

The choir then finished the program with "Pie Jesu" from Gabriel Faure's "Requiem," a powerful "Adiemus" from "Songs of Santuary" by Karl Jenkins and a triumphant "Hallelujah" by George Handel that brought the audience to its feet.